Falling
by Ghost-of-Jezebel
Summary: In progress! Hatter has a secret.  Alice thinks it's her but really...it's him.  What if Hatter wasn't the ladies' man Alice assumes that he is, and she's got more experience playing the field than he has?
1. Chapter 1

Falling

Rating: NC-17 for later chapters

Pairing: Hatter/Alice but mentions of others

Author: Meredydd

Alice flung the black, lacy, beribboned camisole back into the drawer with the fury born of a thousand frustrations. It joined it's silky sorority-a pale blue bra and panties set that had sheer insets, leaving nothing to the imagination; fire engine red vinyl dress that laced up the sides and stopped just past her bum, the novelty g-string that came with it relegated to the trash when it offended Alice's sensibilities by chafing in a most unbecoming manner; frilly white lace numbers, touched by blush satin and pale pink edging and even plain cotton panties and servicible bras. Nothing, she reflected, seemed to work. She jerked the ties of her robe closed and flopped back on herb bed, cheeks still pink from embarrassment and self-doubt, Hatter's sudden departure ringing in her ears. "Early day, my ass," she muttered, rolling onto her stomach and punching her pillow into submission. It had started out so well...

i"So," she asked, leaning back against the couch cushions, "did you want to stay a bit longer?"

He hesitated, his hand hovering over the tea cup's handle as he carefully avoided her gaze. "Yeah," he finally replied. "I'd like that."

Alice's heart leapt into gear, her mouth suddenly dry as Hatter took a sip of tea. She couldn't help it-she liked to watch his throat, the way it worked as he swallowed. She liked to imagine nipping and laving it, leaving tiny marks, claiming him, letting him claim her... She curled her toes into the thick carpet and thought, somewhat abstractedly, that it would be more marks of her giving herself to him, not conquering him... She wanted to let him do whatever he wanted. So long as it was soon. She had been dropping hints, wearing sexy lingerie, doing everything short of throwing him down and ravishing him herself, but so far he had only kissed her, touched her briefly, fled when he realized what she was hinting at. "Really?"

He blinked, looking startled, and she realized that he was nervous. "Really," he said, his smile tight and hands shaking just enough to make the cup rattle as he replaced it upon the saucer. "Um, care for some pizza then? I finally figured out how to order on this phone thingy. Clever thing, those phones. Much easier than the tubes in Wonderland and-"

Alice silenced him with a kiss and, for several long moments, it was perfect. He responded enthusiastically, his fingers tangling in her hair and pulling her closer. She sighed into the embrace, sliding her hands under the edge of his shirt, her nails barely trailing his stomach, up to his chest. He shivered and uttered a sound somewhere between a groan and a laugh as she shifted, breaking the kiss for just a moment as she moved atop him, her knees on either side of his hips as she pressed close. "Hatter, we have the apartment to ourselves for the entire weekend. My mother's out of town on business." He tensed. She could feel it in every centimeter of his body where it touched hers. His gaze skittered away from her own and his fingers worked themselves out of her hair. "What's the matter?"

"I...um, I left the kettle on," he blurted, gently but firmly pushing her aside and scrambling to his feet. "Probably boiled dry by now. Ruined another one. Silly Hatter." He laughed, a shrill and almost maniacal sound as he grabbed his hat. "Um, I'll...I'll call you when I get home and...I love you!" /i

He was gone so fast, Alice barely had time to work up a "Hatter! Wait!" She rolled onto her back and threw the pillow aside. "Swear to god," she muttered. "It's like he's scared of me or something. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was a..." She paused, realization clicking into place. "Oh my god," she whispered, as if someone might overhear and discover Hatter's secret. "Hatter's a virgin!"

A/N Next up, Hatter's chapter! And no worries, there WILL be smut soon. Lovely NC17 smut. :)


	2. Chapter 2

Falling, Chapter Two (NC-17 for sexual content, language, etc.)

A/N Goddess Foxfeather gets beta-cookies for being the uberbeta and Busiest Woman Alive (tm). Just sayin'.

Hatter wondered if it was possible to die from embarrassment. He could feel it still burning on his skin over two hours later, the ghost-feel of Alice against him enough to bring back the flood of awkward panic, the fight or flight response lurching into flight before he even had the chance to give it a go with confronting his fear. Ducking his head under the shower spray, he closed his eyes and tried to imagine the water sluicing away all of the anxiety that lingered like a film over his skin. i It's not like you're completely inexperienced, /i he scolded himself. i You've had plenty of quasi-sexual experiences in Wonderland. Carlotta! Carlotta let you kiss her. And touch her jubblies, thank you very much. And Yvette! You got quite a bit farther with her! Until her brother came home. That wrist never did heal right... /i He shook his hair back from his eyes and sighed, staring at the blue and white tile wall before him as if it held some mystical answers instead of the faint start of mildew. "You're just going to have to tell her. Right after you stop talking to yourself in third person. Why do I have to stop? It's perfectly normal, innit?" He shut off the water and stepped out into the cold bathroom. "I mean, I'm sure everyone here talks to themselves, right?" He paused as he passed the mirror and gave himself a critical once over. "Not too bad, eh? I mean... I'm no whoever passes for sex on legs in this side of the divide but I'm not horrible. Am I?" He poked at the jut of his hipbone and frowned. "Maybe she likes guys built like a flamingo croquet player. No, Jack's skinny as a whip tree and she was into him for a good while." Sighing, he turned away, but not before taking a backwards glance at the mirror and smirking. "Yeah, I'm not all bad, am I?"

Hair still damp, shirt on but unbuttoned over clean trousers and his feet bare, Hatter flung himself down on the red velvet sofa Jack had left behind in the bequeathed apartment. He could still smell Alice's perfume, taste the mint tea and honey of her kiss. He closed his eyes and exhaled as if that could push the heated need out of his body. i And you ran off why, Hatter? Because she was willing and all but wearing a sign that said 'Come and get it, big boy?' Or maybe it was because you're turning blue in places that should never be that color and you thought maybe a cold shower would be far more enjoyable than doing it with Alice. /i It wasn't, he reflected, that he didn't iwant/i to do it with her. He just didn't want to do it ibadly/i. "What a laugh that would be," he muttered, turning on the television before listlessly shutting it off a moment later. "Hatter underperforming compared to Jack Heart. That would be my luck." He closed his eyes and tried to ignore the niggling image he had of Alice and Jack. "Oi, stop that, brain. Not nice." It wasn't that he didn't know what to do, he thought, rolling onto his side and punching a throw pillow into a more comfortable shape, it was just that...well, he admitted inwardly, he was nervous. Very, very nervous. "Right," he muttered, sitting up, swinging his feet to the floor. "Stop being ridiculous, Hatter. Just...wait. When the time is right, seize the moment. If the moment wants to be seized. Er, the moment being Alice in this case. Damn it, you're still talking to yourself! Stop it!" He raked his fingers through his still-damp hair and took a deep breath. "Hatter, stop being afraid of Alice. She will not laugh at you. Just because you're a virgin and you're older than she is... Wait, am I? Oh, Hell. Bloody stupid time line incongruencies." Buttoning his shirt, he felt the beginnings of a smile tug the corners of his lips. i Who says that she even has to know? It's not like she can tell... Maybe, if she says something, I can tell her that's just the way we do it in Wonderland and Jack was just doing it the Oyster way to keep his origins hidden. Eh, it'll do. /i He made it as far as finding his door keys before the phone rang. "Bloody gwormmies!" he gasped, the shrill rattle of the phone startling him as it did every time. "Hello?"

"Hatter, it's just me."

He grinned then, even though she couldn't see him. "Hey, Alice, I was just about to come back over and...talk. I think we should talk." iThere. That's like 'would you like a cuppa?' isn't it?/i There was a long pause and Hatter felt a pang of nervousness. "Alice?"

"Hatter...are you a virgin?"

"No!" The word left his lips before he could stop it. All of his anxieties and worries of the past two hours coalesced into a single word lie. "Of course not! I mean, I'm way too old for that, yeah?" He laughed, shrill and mad.

Alice made a noncommittal noise. "What do you need to talk to me about?"

iShit. /i "Um..."

"Tell you what... I'll come over there. Tomorrow. I'm a bit confused right now and frankly, I need some space."

Hatter listened to the click and hum of an empty line. "Damn it damn it damn it!"

"Put your foot in it, didn't you?"

He glared at the covered mirror, a chunk of the original gateway from Wonderland, a piece from the Old Mirror, the one before Queen of Hearts. Alice had not noticed it yet, secreted as it was in the hallway to the kitchen, covered by an ornate throw that was not very warm at all. "Go away, Cheshire."

"I just thought I'd come by and check..." Hatter could ihear/i the cat's smile. "Friendly word of advice?"

"Bugger off."

The loud smile again, then, "You know where to find me. Just make sure you don't do too good a job of rejecting her, Hatter old man. Don't want her to think there's something the matter."

"I'm fine!"

"Not with you, you daft old twat. With her."


	3. Chapter 3

Falling, Chapter 3

Disclaimers Apply

A/N *sends virtual cookies and tea to Foxfeather*

Alice stared critically at herself in the mirror, taking stock. Previous boyfriends and...ifriends/i had often complimented her looks, in part or whole. She had never given it much thought other than accepting that she was passably pretty, not in terrible shape, and while she wasn't supermodel material, she was publicly presentable in a variety of situations. She had never had a guy turn her down flat out before, not in a relationship anyway. Frowning, she poked her navel. "Even if I was heavier," she muttered, "I don't think Hatter would care. Or would he? He doesn't seem like the sort that would. Or..." a new thought occurred to her, one that promised a few more carbs in her diet. "Maybe he likes women to be fleshier? Maybe he thinks I'm too thin and it's putting him off?" Jack had once teased her about how her hipbones were ever so slightly poking him in the side. She smoothed her hands over her hips, feeling the muscle there and the bit of curve that she rather liked. "I can live with that," she decided, turning to look over her shoulder at the rear view. "Maybe not too much of it though... I've already got Grandma Ruth's ass." Abandoning the mirror, she grabbed her robe and tied it tightly before heading to the kitchen.

"Alice," Carol smiled, looking absurdly pleased to see her. "I didn't know you were home."

"Uh..." Alice's gaze flickered from Carol to the stranger at the table and back again. "Me either. I thought you were out of town on business for another day or so." Mentally, she thanked Hatter for panicking. iSo maybe it wasn't a total disaster... at least we didn't get caught screwing on the sofa like teenagers./i

"This is Daniel, the firm's newest architect." Carol beamed at the younger man and turned back to the coffee pot, pouring out two cups and pausing. "Will you be joining us?"

Alice clutched the neck of her robe closed, aware of Daniel's embarrassed expression and her own state of undress. "No, I think I'll get dressed and take a walk down to...somewhere," she finished lamely. Backing out of the kitchen, she gave her mother's guest a wan smile and then bolted for the bedroom. iEven my mom is getting some... Oh, ew! Stop that, Alice! Bad touch, I need an adult! /i Grabbing the first things she could out of her dresser, she didn't stop to check how she looked, not caring if she was cute or 'done' so much as just covered and able to walk the streets of the East Village without getting arrested or cat-called. i Even if he is a virgin, why hasn't he at least taken me up on some of the encouragement I've given him? Maybe he's saving himself for marriage? Maybe I came on too strong... /i Her thoughts wandered back around to her mother and Daniel. "Maybe," she murmured, waiting for the light to change on the corner, "I'm just jealous that my mom's love life is going gangbusters and mine is...in stasis." That's not fair, she corrected herself. She and Hatter had been having a great time so far, even with the arguing that cropped up daily. It was never anything awful or overly serious but trying to get him to understand the ways of her world while he held tightly to his own... She sighed aloud and trotted across the street, ignoring the honks of the cab driver trying to inch across the intersection. i He probably thinks I hate him now or something, /i she mused, remembering her parting shot to him over the phone. "Crap." Almost without thinking it, she turned towards Hatter's apartment and started walking quickly. iWhat do you plan on doing when you get there, Alice? Apologizing for his virginity? Or maybe for your libido? Or just embarrassing the Hell out of him and asking him why he hasn't lost his cherry yet? /i She tried to imagine that conversation and explaining 'cherry' to Hatter. "Right... not the best plan."

"What's not, dear?"

Alice swallowed a squeak of surprise and stumbled over...nothing. "Hello?" she demanded, turning a full circle. She was on a mostly deserted street lined with old brownstones and overhanging trees. Cars dotted the curbside and a few teenagers dashed to and from, dodging a lady with a shopping cart. No one was nearby, though. "Okay, Alice...way to hallucinate."

"The two of you," the voice purred, "are hardheaded as a pack of turtles."

Alice blinked, focusing on the voice: a faintly shimmering point about knee-high. She said the first thing that came to mind. "I don't think turtles travel in packs."

"That is hardly the point." The shimmering spot grew, taking on a feline shape. "You are both hardheaded. That is the lesson you should take away from all of this."

Closing her eyes for a moment, Alice pressed her fingers against her brows, took several slow breaths and then opened her eyes. The shimmer was still there and now looked even more feline. "Am I safe in assuming you're from Wonderland?" 

"Mmmm. Am I safe in assuming that you're on your way to see Hatter?"

"I thought you needed a mirror to show up here," Alice muttered accusingly, stepping around the shimmery cat and heading for the subdivided brownstone halfway up the block.

"You assumed," the cat replied, sounding rather wounded. "Some of us are not bound by silly conventions."

"Some of us?"

"Well... just me," he purred, sounding more pleased than wounded then. "If you go marching up there, asking him about his...rather intact state...how do you think that will go off?"

Alice stopped mid-step. "How do you know about that?" she hissed. "Has Hatter been talking?"

"No more than usual," the cat replied and Alice had the distinct impression that it shrugged. "As much as your...enthusiasm...would be appreciated by an Oyster male... you have very little intimate knowledge of Wonderian men. Jack," he added, "not being the best example."

"What the Hell are you talking about?"

"If you go throwing yourself at him again, or trying to coax him into discussing his lack of experience, it will be akin to trying to saddle a hedgehog to the royal coach. It just won't work."

Alice pinched the bridge of her nose, acutely aware of the fact she appeared to be talking to herself in the middle of a sidewalk in the East Village. That in and of itself would not be an unusual sight but it was not something she wished to be known for anytime soon. "So cut to the chase..."

The shimmer began to fade and, unless Alice was mistaken, swirl in on itself. "The male ego is a fragile thing, especially in Wonderland. Without the fantastic, they seem to think they are useless." With a barely audible pop, the cat vanished.

"Oh, for fuck's sake," Alice muttered after a moment and began marching towards Hatter's place once more. Her steps slowed, however, and she grimaced. "Damn it. The invisible cat-thing makes sense. If I go being pushy, he'll just curl up and deflect. So now what?"

"So," the cat-voice said, sounding exasperated, "go home! Let the boy come to you!"

"I thought you'd gone!"

"I'm just full of surprises."

A/N Next chapter will have some nice smuttiness. Promise! And it'll be out in a few days. Not such a long wait this next time! ;)


	4. Chapter 4

Falling, Chapter Four

Disclaimers Apply

Alice blearily checked the caller ID on her phone. "Hatter?" she asked, voice creaky, then belatedly pressed the 'accept' button as the phone jangled in her ear. "Hatter? Something wrong?"

"No." Alice blinked sleep out of her eyes at the strident, firm tone. "Alice," he said, sounding a bit too loud, a bit too hyper, "there's nothing wrong with you."

"...what?"

"There's nothing wrong with you."

"Good," she replied dryly, now fully awake. "I was worried." She heard him laugh, that tinny and high pitched giggle he sometimes got that made her worry. "Hatter, are you drunk?"

"Did you know there's a drink called absinthe? The bloke at the pub said it weren't like the real stuff from France but I like it. It's a lovely color then goes all cloudy-like." He giggled again, then cleared his throat. "Said it went with me hat."

"What did?"

"The absinthe. Bloke said a fellow like me, one what was wearing such a hat, should be the type who likes absinthe. An' you know... he's right!"

"Oh, crap," she sighed, already out of bed and trying to find her shoes. "Hatter, where are you?"

"Home, love. I promise. See?" Silence as he held his phone up to the empty apartment. "All alone!" came the rather muffled cry as he dropped it. "I just... just wanted to let you know that there's nothing wrong with you."

"Hatter," she sighed, letting her boots drop from her fingers and not caring if the thud disturbed Carol and her 'friend'. "I'm not angry with you, if that's what you're thinking."

"Not at all," he replied, his tone definitely lower now. Alice was fairly certain, from the sounds he was making-the slight grunt, the sigh, the rustle of fabric-that he was lying down and getting comfortable. "I wasn't thinking anything like that. In fact... like to know just what I was thinking? Am, rather, What I am thinking..."

She hesitated. On one hand, she reasoned, it was two in the morning, she had a class of grade schoolers that would be expecting their karate teacher at nine am, and she was really not up for a long drunk-talk, but on the other... "Sure."

"I was thinking that you have fantastic tits."

"...pardon?"

"Damn. Would you rather I said breasts? I like the sound of the word 'tits' though... it fits you. Cute, perky...like yours!"

Alice felt her cheeks redden and she barely suppressed a laugh. "Hatter, get some sleep. You're drunk."

"Maybe so," he allowed. "But I can tell you now I'm not going to sleep. I've spent all evening thinking about you, about...about what I'd do if I had the guts to follow through. Thing is, I don't want to disappoint you."

"Why do you think-"

"You know why I think," he cut her off. "I haven't been with a woman...well, not with-with. And you've had more experience than I have, yeah? On one hand, I could just let you...well, be in charge. On the other...I really fancy the idea of making you scream."

Silence. Alice couldn't make herself talk. Sexual awareness shot through her like a bolt of lightening and she had a sudden glimpse in her mind's eye of Hatter doing just that. It wasn't the fantasies she had entertained of the two of them on the sofa, or grabbing a quickie in his foyer before heading to the movies. Rather, it was of her, being entirely at his pleasure, stretched across the massive bed that took up half his bedroom. "Maybe," she said, somewhat nervous and she couldn't fathom why, "we can talk about this tomorrow."

"Tomorrow," he declared, "I'll be sober and too much of a gentleman to even suggest letting me lick you on those lovely pink nipples and tasting you on my tongue as you squirm." Alice sat down on the floor, not quite willing to get into bed. Her skin felt hypersensitive as Hatter's low, almost growling, voice pressed through the line and into her consciousness. "Do you know what I'm doing right now, Alice?"

She had a fairly good idea but... "No," she replied, voice almost a whisper.

"I'm touching myself. Stroking my cock, making it hard while I think about you. I had such a fairy princess picture of you in Wonderland. I was afraid to try anything but... Alice, to tell the truth, if you'd even given me the right glance, I'd have been at your feet, willing to do whatever you'd asked."

"No you wouldn't," she said, smiling, fingers trailing along the hem of her nightshirt. "You're a gentleman."

"Then," he agreed. "But I've had so many dreams of doing that, you know. Charlie wasn't there in the dreams... that'd have been awkward as balls. No, just you and me." She could hear his breathing grow a bit more ragged and edged. "I've thought about that a lot. About how I would have kissed you, let you tell me what to do." A pause, then, "What would you have wanted me to do, Alice?"

"I...I don't know."

"I can tell you what I've thought about you saying. I'd have undressed you, kissed all of you, toes to ears, licked and nipped your skin and made you shiver." He paused. "That absinthe makes things sparkly."

Alice almost growled in frustration. The image was growing clear in her mind's eye, that of she and Hatter in Wonderland, how things may have gone in a different universe. "Hatter, what about now?"

"What about it?"

"Do you think of us doing something like that...now?"

"Gods above, yes."

"Tell me about it." Her fingers found her center and she bit her lip, surprised at her own daring. She had never done this on the phone before and she was partly embarrassed but mostly too aroused to care. "We don't have to do it, not if you're not ready, but I'd like to hear..."

"Alice," he said slowly, as if deep in thought. "Alice, if I tell you, promise you won't laugh at the virgin?"

"Why?"

"Promise me."

"I promise," she breathed, fingers pressing and stroking the soft folds between her thighs. She could hear the hitch in his breathing and felt herself respond, thinking how she was part of that, his thoughts of her, of them, were making him feel that way... Her fingers moved faster, hips rocking up against them as she leaned back against the wall, legs parting further.

"It's silly," he panted. "But what I want...what I think about the most... it's not like the pictures, not like what I've seen in Wonderland or in those funny shops here. It's just...us. In bed, usually. Maybe I'm boring like that. But what I want most..." He paused to catch his breath. "What I want most is for you to show me what you like."

Alice felt her climax start before she could reply. She barely kept in the sudden gasp of pleasure as she spasmed around her probing fingers. On the other end of the line, she heard Hatter bite out a grunting gasp and knew he had reached the same point, wondered if he knew she had... Breathing and half-muttered, tired and drunk words filled in the space until Alice said his name. "Do you need me to come over?"

"Not tonight," he said finally. "I'm drunk and I'm afraid I'll be mortified in the morning."

"Hatter..."

"Goodnight, Alice." Silence as he hung up.

"Right, like I'm going to sleep now!"


	5. Chapter 5

Falling, Ch. 5

Disclaimers Apply!

Hatter rinsed his mouth with the strongest tea he could make and it still tasted of anise and sugar, a combination that was doing nothing to help the nausea roiling in his belly. "Note to self," he muttered, "absinthe is evil." Swishing more double-strength Earl Gray around, he spit it into the sink and rubbed an tired, slightly shaky hand through his tousled hair. He had vague memories of the night before, mostly blurry and oddly bright around the edges. Alice figured into most of it but, when he thought of her, he felt hot embarrassment course through his veins. "What in the name of the Silver Lady did I do?" he sighed. He already knew that she was not there, nor had she been recently-he could not smell her perfume on anything (not that he would admit to sniffing...that would just be weird). He eyed the phone speculatively. "Bugger it," he sighed. "Fine, fine, I'll call! Why am I talking to myself? Because the invisible cat thing isn't here... Hello? Are you here then?" Silence met his call. "Hmph. Fine. If you're just being weird and invisible-like to perv...well, stop it." He paused again, chewing on his lower lip for a moment. "Right. Must stop doing that. People here will stare." Jabbing the numbers for Alice's phone, Hatter flung himself down on the sofa to wait.

Alice stared at the caller i.d. screen on her phone, Hatter's name blazing bright. "Crapweasels," she muttered; she wanted to talk to him (for many reasons, the previous evening being foremost on her list of Things To Discuss) but at the same time, the hot flush of awareness coursing over her skin, making her back brain do a sort of lazy roll and purr and growl all at once, made her afraid to even say 'hello.' She wondered, all in the space of a second, if he wanted to try again now that he was sober. Or if he was sober at all. Taking a deep breath, she accepted the call and put on her best 'everything is fine here, I so didn't have phone sex with you last night' voice, she said "Hey, Hatter. What's up?" Damn it.

"Hi," he drawled after the briefest hesitation. "Um...look, there's no good way to do this but..."

"Want to go to lunch?" Alice asked suddenly. "I think we need to talk and I don't want to do it on the phone." Damn it damn it!

Hatter felt a niggle of *something* tease the base of his skull, trying to wake up errant memories and bring them closer to the surface. "Right," he said finally. _"_Talk."

"It's not like that," she sighed, recognizing the defeated tone. "We just...need to discuss some things."

Hatter's silence stretched on for longer this time, long enough that Alice was beginning to think her phone had dropped the call. Finally, in a quiet and nervous voice, he asked, "Did I happen to call you last night?"

Oy. "Yeeeeeeeeeeees..."

"Ah. Right. Right, then." More quiet. Then, "What did I, ah, want to discuss then?"

Alice barely managed to stifle a nervous giggle, cursed herself silently for acting like a teenager. "You...um. You were feeling a bit...frisky."

"Like a cat?"

That did it. Alice laughed. "An invisible cat," she giggled. "Exactly like a cat."

"Oh, for...Never mind lunch," Hatter snapped, not angry at Alice but at Wonderland and nosy beings. "I'll be over in a trice."

"Wait!" She was speaking to dead air. Still trailing nervous, uncertain giggles, she hung up the phone and closed her eyes. If she stilled her thoughts, she could feel his voice across her skin, sending shivers. She thought of last night, of how his breath hitched as he spoke, how his voice dropped lower, sounded rough and almost pained. "Damn," she breathed. She felt the stirrings of heat and lust low in her belly, a familiar pressure at the base of her spine, the apex of her thighs. "Shower," she said aloud to the empty room. "Cold, cold shower..."

Hatter finally managed, with a strong dose of peppermint tea and a ginger biscuit, to get the fuzzy taste from his mouth before grabbing his favorite hat and locking the apartment door behind him. "Okay, cat. If you're here, say so now..." He glanced around the corridor and paused, offering a smile to his staring neighbor. "Strays," Hatter shrugged. The old lady merely nodded slowly and shut her door, the rattle and thump of multiple locks filtering out into the hall. Hatter stood for just a moment longer, marshaling his thoughts. One, he mused, setting off at a steady pace, swinging through the apartment building's entry doors like a soldier on a mission, the infamous spy, the Cheshire Cat, was visiting Oysters. Namely Alice. HIS Alice. Two, he added to the list, the mirror fragment in his apartment was suspiciously quiet. Someone was trying to be sneaky. Likely Jack, monitoring his progress. Three... Three. He was fairly certain he had done something quite naughty with Alice the night before, probably on the phone, and he was more than a little annoyed that he couldn't remember details, much less manage to have the guts to do such things while sober. "Right. So what if she's all giggly because she's disgusted? Carlotta did like that, didn't she? Got all snickery and giggly before tellin' me off. Maybe she wasn't laughing, was she? What if she was crying? Sick of Wonderland stuff like Cheshire, like me?" Ignoring the looks he was getting, Hatter dashed across the crosswalk near his building, still muttering to himself. "Maybe it really is all about me being a virgin. Maybe she was laughing about that. Maybe I did something dumb last night and it was so hilarious, Cheshire had to come through to laugh with her and mock me. No... he wouldn't do that. Too dull for him. Ugh!" Hatter was forced to stop at the next crosswalk, bouncing on his heels impatiently. When the light finally turned, he practically ran, breaking free from the knot of people slowing him down. "Right, right, right. I'll stop being an idiot. I'll just have to see what she says."

"Yes," came a silky, low voice near his ear. Hatter stumbled, tripping over his own feet, and fell flat on his rear as Cheshire manifested just enough to make out a faint, glittery outline. "Stop being an idiot, you northern ninny, and listen to her. Listen to me, most importantly." The outline hovered closer, forcing Hatter to focus on it instead of the surge of people around him on the sidewalk. "Breathe. It's important." With that, Cheshire vanished and left Hatter laying on the ground.

"Hey! Hey, buddy! You need help?"

"Ah... no. I'm fine," Hatter replied, rolling to his feet. "Sorry."

"Wanna get the fuck out of the way then?"

"On it!" He paused then called back to the passing man, "Oi! You know where a flower shop is around here then?"

"Two blocks up." The man smiled. "Seein' your girl?"

"Something like that," Hatter called, striding purposefully on. "Alice isn't anybody's girl," he murmured. "But she's close..."

A/N Next chapter will be FAR steamier. Promise!


	6. Chapter 6

Falling, Chapter Six

Disclaimers Apply

A/N Goddess Foxfeather...I shall have to send you cookies and hope they make it, lol, for all your hard work...

Alice stared at the slightly worse-for-wear bouquet in Hatter's hand and smiled. She couldn't help it-in spire of her nervousness, her uncertainty, she smiled and took the flowers with a murmured 'thanks' and headed for the kitchen and a vase. Hatter followed, a shade hesitantly, and lurked in the kitchen doorway. Other than brief, slightly shaky greetings, they had not spoken a word to one another since Hatter practically fell through the door when Alice answered. Now, she stood, back to him, silently trying to pick the right words, the right lead-in to conversation that didn't sound as if she was freaked out by the phone call the night before, or worse. She didn't have long to wait, though. Hatter caved to the silence, caved to the tension vibarating between them like a plucked piano string. Alice barely had time to register his approach, the soft sound of footfalls, before she felt his breath on the back of her neck, the barely-there brush of his fingers against her nape. She bit back a gasp and instead busied herself with the flowers, needlessly arranging them as Hatter stood, only touching her with his fingertips, the warmth from him radiating, pressing against her back even when his body was not.

"What," he asked quietly, "did I say to you on the phone last night?"

"Wh..." she paused, cleared her throat. "What do you remember?"

"Vague things... feeling warm, feeling...very, very good." He hesitated to add that he thought he'd had a very involved wank while they spoke, not sure how Alice would take that bit of information. Instead, he added, "What do you remember?"

"Everything," she said after a breath. "Everything. Hatter-" she turned, gasping softly as she brushed against him. He was looking down at her with dark, hooded eyes, lips parted as if on a soundless word, a plea. She closed the fraction of an inch separating them, swallowing his soft moan of pleasure as she deepened the kiss. After a shared sigh, she felt his hands on her back, sliding to her waist, then her hips. Afraid to break the spell, she stood still and let Hatter control the embrace, not giving into her desire to capture his face between her palms, pull him close, feel the slide of her tongue against his...

"Alice," he murmured, breaking for a breath. "I don't know what I said to you last night but I'm sorry if it was...um. I'm sorry if it was...much."

"Much what?" she asked, feeling a niggle of annoyance that he had paused for something so...well, annoying. "It was fine. I promise." She gave in then, pressed closer, waited for him to pull away with a near breathlessness that made her feel faintly dizzy.

Hatter stilled, swallowed hard. Now, he thought, now would be a good time to act on urges... Nerves assailed him as he looked down into Alice's dark, passion-heavy eyes. Rejection, a tiny voice that sounded like Carlottaa chirpped in the back of his mind. Pathetic sod, added the ghost of Jimmy Slate, the stupid git from the foundling home who shagged every girl Hatter had ever shown interest in... Closing his eyes, he almost missed Alice's moue of resignation. Almost. Before she could pull away, tell him everything was alright, he pressed against her, pushing her onto the countertop and kissing her as if she were oxygen and he was dying.

Alice tensed, surprised for a flashing moment of panic, but felt her body begin to melt into Hatter's as his hands moved up her sides, cupped her breasts. Without giving it a further thought, she wrapped her legs around his thighs. He didn't protest, didn'g suddenly remember he had somewhere to be, but he did tremble. The feeling of the shiver running through his body made her smile against his mouth. She couldn't see the blush but she knew, just as she knew he was quickly losing bravado. Tightening her legs around his, she broke the kiss enough to talk, her lips moving against his cheek. "Hatter, it's okay."

He nodded, pressing his forehead to hers. A long silence ensued, long enough for Alice's blood to begin cooling and Hatter's to slow to a normal speed in his veins. Finally, he sighed. "Alice...want to show me what I said last night?"

"Show...oh. Oh!" She slid from the counter, her body all but flush against his. "I'd love to."


	7. Chapter 7

Falling, Chapter Seven

A/N My apologies for the long wait! :( But! Taa daa...smut!

Hatter had an odd, weightless sensation as Alice closed the bedroom door behind them. She had a small, secretive smile and he had the strong desire to demand how many others had seen that smile, what could he do to make her forget them all. Nervousness was long gone, replaced with a strangle-vine of fear and near crippling anticipation. He stood, knees threatening to buckle, as Alice tugged at her t-shirt, pulling it over her head and letting it land with a soft, almost soundless thump on the wooden floor. He knew that he should move, reach for her, hell, even reach for his own clothes, but all he could do was stare as she smiled at him, tilted her head in invitation. He wished that he had taken the advice of his mates at the foundling home and paid Lucy Ginblossom for her "favors," or that maybe he'd been a little less shy with Lottie Rose... Being a virgin had not been so bad a month or so ago but now... He closed his eyes for a moment and wondered if Alice would be tired of waiting when he opened them. Nope, he realized. In fact, she had not moved at all.

"Alice..."

"No, wait." She did not move to get her shirt back on but something about her posture, her attitude shifted just a bit, making her seem closed off as she spoke. "If you're going to turn me down, just do it fast. I can't stand the idea of being dicked around while you make up your mind about me." She fought the desire to cross her arms over her chest and cover the sheer lace bra that seemed to hold all of Hatter's attention for that moment and instead tossed her hair back over her shoulders, daring a response. "Well?"

He unclenched his jaw. He made himself step forward, tossing his hat aside, shucking his jacket from his shoulders. Alice stood still as he closed the distance between them and, after just a moment's hesitation, placed his fingertips on her bare shoulders. He felt her sway into the touch, just enough to make his fingers flex, and he slid his hands forward, his touch becoming more certain, more sure. How, he thought, could I possibly make her think that I didn't want her? Guilt washed through him but it was not enough to slake the desire he felt for her. Need and arousal coiled at the base of his spine, pushing him forward, pressing him against her. Chest to chest, hip to hip, he sighed into the contact, shivering slightly as her arms went around his waist. Alice smiled against his chest and began tugging at his shirt, her nails chasing the hem as he took over, pulling it off as quickly as he could manage. He hissed as Alice's fingers found his nipples and scraped lightly, then more firmly. "Careful," he managed. "Ticklish."

"Noted." Relief was flooding her system and part of her felt selfish and vain for having been so worried, so invested in whether or not Hatter wanted to have sex with her but she could not be bothered to care too much as Hatter's lips found the shell of her ear, the curve of her neck. She felt herself being moved backwards and thought, flickeringly, to turn Hatter, to take over, but she stilled the urge, let him push her back onto the bed and climb up next to her. Fingers moved in a flurry of motions, buttons and zippers falling prey to eager touch, and before long clothes littered the bed, the floor. Alice couldn't help it-she giggled.

"What?" Hatter demanded warily, glancing down at himself. He had not exactly made a practice of looking at other blokes naked but he was fairly certain that he had nothing to be ashamed of...

"I just...I just...even last night, on the phone... I imagined you still wearing your hat!"

Hatter paused, cocked his head and the mental image of him naked in nothing but his beloved porkpie made him snicker, then giggle, then outright guffaw. Naked, aroused and in a hat... he felt that this might be something he may have to do for Alice soon, if he could get over the laughing. In fact... He lurched from the bed and snagged his hat, dropping it into place before Alice could stop him. "Taa daa," he sing-songed, crawling back onto the bed next to her. She laughed, loudly, but he didn't care. It was beautiful. It was not what he imagined for the first time but it was amazing, even before they had done more than kiss. Alice's eager hands sent those thoughts to a screeching halt, though, and for several long moments, Hatter could hardly think at all. Sensation blurred into heart-pounding pleasure, the first words coming back to his throat lost in a slur of panicky lust. He wanted to feel her, all of her, rightnowohgodsnownownow... Alice said something that he could no quite hear over the blood pounding in his hears, the echo of Carlotta's mocking voice and Cheshire's chiding on twirling about and making him dizzy as he felt the silken heat of her about his fingers, felt her breath hitch as his tongue pressed to the hard nub of her nipple. Was he doing it right, he wondered, was she gasping in pleasure or pain or trying not to laugh? Her fingers caught in his hair, pulling his head down to her when he would move, her hips lifting, a soft whimper in her throat as he shifted, moved over her almost without thinking.

Alice tensed, wondering, for a moment, if Hatter was going to pull away, scared and uncertain, but his fingers found her again and were slicked with moisture. She felt rather than heard him groan against her shoulder and, after a moment's hesitation, he took her wrist and led her hand to his arousal. The wordless plea for guidance was breathed across her neck and she accepted, closing her fingers around his girth, pushing her knees apart just a bit further and sighing as the head of his cock teased her entrance. Hatter shuddered hard against her and she bit her own lip to keep from moaning. Slowly, very slowly, he pushed and she guided, his arousal filling her inch by inch. After what felt like a small eternity, he was entirely within her and she held very still as he shivered, his breath ragged. "Are you...are you okay?" she whispered.

"Gods, yes. He opened one eye and peered at her face, so close that she was almost out of focus. "Um...you?"

"More than okay," she assured him. She gave her hips a tiny lift and wiggle, eliciting a startled gasp from Hatter. "Too much?"

"Yes!" Then, "Again!"

She laughed, low in her throat, and complied. Hatter gave a tentative thrust in return and, after a few jittering false starts, began a slow but steady rhythm. Alice moved against him and for a few minutes, they were disjointed and confused, seeking and trying, but then, in a soft and soundless sigh, they found each other, found a way for it to work.

Hatter, sweat-slicked and nervous, felt his release uncoil and tighten in his belly and, before he could think more about trying to hold off, to wait, he spilled himself inside Alice. She gasped, squeezed her legs around his hips and held him in place as she raised her hips, pressing the most sensitive of spots against him, riding out the throb and quiver of his release and trembling through the fall of her climax. It wasn't perfect, Alice thought as his weight fell against her, but it was good. Great, even. Better than she thought it would be because it was nothing like she had imagined. As their breathing steadied and slowed, she raked her fingers lightly throuh his hair, asking, "Okay?" 

"I," he said after a long moment, "can't feel my bones. Is that good?"

"Very," she laughed, wiggling, edging him off of her. They tangled in blankets and she tossed his hat aside. "By the bye...when I said I imagined you with your hat on...I neve said I imagined it being on your head."

"Alice!"

"I kid! I kid!" She screamed a laugh as he rolled her onto her back, silenced only when he pressed his mouth to hers in a kiss. After several heartbeats, they broke to breathe. "Was it...was it what you wanted?" 

"It's what I didn't know I wanted," he admitted after a moment. "I know... I know I wasn't very good but...well, we can do his again, yeah?" 

"Duh."

They both started, Alice scrabbling to cover her bare breasts with the sheet, Hatter grabbing the lamp as a weapon. The fading smile over the foot of the bed told them all they needed to know.


End file.
